Sophomore Andrew Lavine was practically born with a racket in his hand. He’s been playing tennis alongside his grandfather, Juan Bracho, for his whole life. And now that Lavine has grown up and earned himself the No. 1 spot on the McCallum varsity team, his grandfather is still beside him.

“I was happy he could help the team out,” Lavine said. “I was so happy he could share his knowledge and experience and make the team better.”

Since the end of last year, Bracho has been putting his 39 years of teaching experience to use by helping to coach the McCallum tennis team alongside new coach Mike McLaughlin. Tennis has been part of Bracho’s life since he was 10 years old, when he happened to catch the eye of Stan Smith during the Davis Cup in Mexico City.

“I went to watch Stan Smith play during the practices,” Bracho said. “He served a serve so fast the ball ended up going outside the bounds of the court. I went and I reached out for the ball, and I must have given Stan Smith a good impression or something. He turned around, grabbed a pen, and he gave me an autographed ball. When he gave me that ball, I was like, ‘Alright, I want to play tennis.’”

Bracho’s passion for the sport is, it seems, a family trait. Lavine began playing tennis competitively when he was 9. Although Lavine plays Universal Tennis (UTR) and United States Tennis Association (USTA) tournaments outside of school, joining the McCallum team provided a new opportunity to improve his game. And this time, Lavine isn’t the only player to benefit from Bracho’s tutelage.

“He just makes the team better with the knowledge he has about the game,” Lavine said. “He has given better technique to everyone [and implemented] a fair ladder system to make the starting lineups. If you beat someone, you take their spot [on the ladder], and the highest spots get on varsity.”

Senior co-varsity captain Liliana Rodriguez feels that Bracho’s unique coaching style is a boon for the team as a whole.

“He takes the time to walk us through a lot of the skills verbally, which is kind of good because tennis is not just a physical game,” Rodriquez said. “It’s also a mental game and to have that side of the sport really taught to us is nice.”

Bracho’s experience with the sport is invaluable to head coach Mike McLaughlin, who began coaching the team for the first time this year. But to McLaughlin, Bracho isn’t the only one on his family tree making the team stronger.

“[Lavine]’s just got power,” McLaughlin said. “His serve is really powerful. And he just seems pretty consistent as a player.”

But Lavine is more than just a great tennis player; he’s an inspiration to his teammates.

“He’s humble, even though his skills are crazy good,” Rodriguez said. “He always is down-to-earth and would never want to make anyone feel like he’s better than us.”

“I think he’s gonna be a great leader,” McLaughlin said. “[He inspires] the rest of the team to really work hard and do their best. He would definitely make a great captain because of his personality and his enthusiasm for tennis.”

Although Lavine’s passion for the sport is shared by his grandfather, Bracho is careful not to force it.

“It’s not me wanting him to play tennis, it’s him wanting to play tennis,” Bracho said. “That was one of the things that we established from the very beginning. There are so many parents that live vicariously through their kids. That’s not the case with us. If Andrew decides not to play tennis anymore, that’s his decision. It’s his life and his game.”

There’s no telling what’s in store for Lavine’s future with tennis, but Bracho believes Lavine has the potential to play at the college level. But no matter where the sport takes them, one thing will never change: Bracho will always be by Lavine’s side. This sentiment has become more literal with the pair working and playing together on the same courts.

“We became closer as a family [by] working with each other day in and day out,” Lavine said. “I’m really grateful to have him to help me out every day. It means everything.”